3-23-10

I just arrived in Kuta by taxi. Holy sensory overload. This city is crammed to the hilt in every way imaginable. The shops are one after another, with clothing and sunglasses and knickknacks bursting at the seams, out onto the street. There are mopeds headed every which way and there doesn’t seem to be any rules of the road. Cars are parked all over the place and the streets are only big enough for one small vehicle to squeeze through, yet its two way traffic. It is colorful though and filled with spicy smells and surfboards and bikes. I am taking a time out in my 12-dollar-a-night hotel room letting the fan hit my sweaty self full blast. I think I may be having a slight bout of culture shock due to the sudden switch between such contrasting environments.

The Hindu religion is predominant here, and there are offerings put out 3 times a day called “canang sari” which consists of a small basket (about the size of a pot holder) woven of green palm like leaves and filled with bits of flowers, rice or crackers, and sometimes coins and fruit. A stick or two of incense stands from the basket and burns. There are so many of them, especially in doorways, it creates quite a challenge to wheel a suitcase around or even around stepping on them by accident.

After asking around about the meaning of the offering I gather that it is a way of acknowledging the richness of life and gratitude for what has been provided by the gods (usually Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu- all manifestations of the supreme deity ‘Sanghyang Widhi’). The offerings are also meant to create balance by appeasing the spirit world in hopes of being looked upon favorably with health and prosperity.

According to my research Indonesia’s population is 89% Muslim. Bali, being predominantly Hindu is an exception- and has paid dearly for this deviation in the past (nightclub bombings in 2002 killed hundreds, mostly tourists). The attacks are said to be associated with al-Qaeda or intended to expedite the formation of an Islamic state which included this part of Indonesia.